Building boom on campus
by Colby Miller, posted Sept. 13, 2007
Over the past 25 years, MU has constructed more than 7 million square feet of new additions in the form of buildings and facilities. There are currently more than $600 million worth of construction and renovation projects with more to come, according to the Mizzou Master Plan.
Other than the Student Recreation Center, which takes up 93,000 square feet of space, most students walk by construction sites but have no idea what is going to be built.
“All I know is that we have the best recreation center in the country and thank God for that,” said freshman Wade Browning. “The construction is everywhere and right now it is just more of an inconvenience.”
There are currently 26 projects in the design or planning stage ranging from renovations, more housing, parking and a bike route. There are 24 more projects that are in the planning stage. MU has also just completed 10 other renovations and construction sites within the past few years.
One of the most questioned building sites is located at the corner of Stadium Drive and College Blvd. The very slow process of building a new MU hospital has begun.
"Building the new hospital is like re-building an airplane when it's flying at 37,000 feet," said Mike Nolan, MU Capital Review Committee member. "You can't tear down the existing hospital because it is still in use."
According to Nolan, building the new hospital is even more difficult because the new building site is on the same ground as the current hospital.
"One of the interesting things about all the construction is that very little of it is state funded," Nolan said. "The hospital improvements comes from the hospital's revenue, the new dorms come from the residential life bonds and the same for all the other areas."
Many students are excited to see what is to come of all the new building projects, but some share a common concern.
“I can’t wait to see all the finished projects,” said sophomore Nick Crowley. “The only problem is I will have to come back and see most of them as a graduate."
